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Commissioner Halkiatis asked staff to include how this person is currently being <br />compensated and the entire picture -all of the funding, time without pay, etc. <br />Rick Williston said that he is a member of Club Nova. He wanted to reiterate to the <br />community that Club Nava is an essential component of the community and they ask for the <br />County Commissioners' continued support. He thanked the County Commissioners, <br />businesses, churches, and schools for their support of Club Nava. <br />Tony Kleese is the Executive Director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. <br />He is also Vice-Chair of Orange County's Agricultural Preservation Board. He made reference <br />to the Agricultural Heritage Festival at Blackwood Farm two years ago for the celebration of <br />Orange County's 250th anniversary. He said that there are a lot of people in the community that <br />would like to see this event continue. The County and the Carolina Farm Stewardship <br />Association have had dialogue about having this event at the Blackwood Farm. It seems that <br />the Parks and Recreation Department now feels that this property is under their jurisdiction, <br />which precludes the association from being able to charge a fee for this event. The association <br />is non-profit and they would use this event for fund-raising, but they would also like to use some <br />of the funds for upkeep of the buildings at the Blackwood Farm. He asked that the County <br />Commissioners approve the use of this facility to keep the festival going. <br />Tony Kleese spoke about a second issue. He said that in California, there are counties <br />that ban genetically engineered crops. This is to protect the organically grown crops, because <br />genetically engineered crops can contaminate organic crops. There is a bill in the House and <br />Senate that would give the right to ban plants to the Board of Agriculture and take the right away <br />from local municipalities. He feels that this decision should be left up to counties. He urged the <br />County Commissioners to take action on this and let legislators know that this decision is the <br />County's to make and not the Board of Agriculture's. He said that the Board of Agriculture has <br />no consumer interest and no organic farming interest, but only represents agribusiness. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that he thought a couple of years ago that there was a <br />discussion about using this Blackwood property far a yearly agricultural festival. He asked why <br />people were being told that it could not be used. <br />Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Halkiotis and asked the Manager to <br />help make this happen or report back as to why there could not be a yearly festival at the <br />Blackwood property. He worked on the agricultural heritage festival two years ago and it was a <br />tremendous effort by the staff. If there is to be a festival, there will have to be a total volunteer <br />effort, or a group will need to come in, like CFSA. He said that the Eno River festival is on a <br />Durham park, and the park on the Blackwood property has not even been developed yet. He <br />thinks it is unfortunate that CFSA was told no by the Parks and Recreation Department. <br />John Link said that, effective this evening, the staff perspective would be that the County <br />would work with this group to continue an agricultural festival on this property. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked Greg Wilder to look at the legislative item brought up by <br />Tony Kleese. <br />b. Matters an the Printed Agenda <br />(These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda <br />below.) <br />3. Board Comments <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he attended the meeting of the Agricultural Center Work <br />Group, and they wanted to know where money was for the agricultural center, and he tried to <br />explain to them all of the capital projects the County was involved in. He thinks the work group <br />is particularly interested in the Blackwood Farm. Also, Phyllis Ruth from Farm Service Agency <br />was there, and she worked with Cooperative Extension on some estimates on where agriculture <br />is currently in Orange County. The numbers will be updated for the Ag Preservation Board <br />